Poor Abigail Breslin must feel a lot less sunny than usual today.

While "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Half Nelson" emerged as the big champs at the Indie Spirit noms with 5 bids each, the "Little Miss" star was missing from the kudos spotlight. What made it odd — and, let's be honest, a gyp! — was that the young gal starring in "Nelson" — Shareeka Epps not only got a bid, but in the lead actress race despite expectations that she might, if nommed, land in supporting. Granted, Shareeka is aces on screen and deserves award recognition, but she doesn't cast the same blinding light Abby does.

Does this mean that Shareeka may turn out to be the Adorable Young Gal of 2006 (this year's Tatum O'Neal or Anna Paquin) who gets nommed at the Oscars, not Abby? Or is it just a case of Abby being too cutesy, too sugary, not gritty in the way edgy indie filmakers usually like? It's one thing for them to acknowledge the amazing success of "Sunshine" — they really had to, considering it's the breakout indie hit of the year — but hugging Abby may strike them as utterly uncool. If that's the reason for her snub, then she'll likely re-emerge as a contender at the Globes (where she's eligible in the lead comedy actress race) and Oscars (where she's campaigning in the supporting category). However, if this snub is evidence of filmmakers not taking Abby seriously as an actress, then this could spell doom for her at kudos ahead. Today Abby's costar Alan Arkin nabbed a Spirit bid, making it look more likely that he'll be noticed by the foreign press and film academy.

But the biggest winnah of all was really Ryan Gosling, who is now, officially, the darling of the indie set. Considering that he's long been favored to win one of the best-actor kudos from the New York Film Critics Circle or Los Angeles Film Critics' Association next when they vote in early December, it's looking more and more likely that he'll land on the Oscar list next.

Others who got a notable Oscar boost from today's noms, too: "For Your Consideration's" Catherine O'Hara (nommed for lead actress instead of supporting), the new James Bond star Daniel Craig as Truman Capote's kisser in "Infamous," "Thank You For Smoking" star Aaron Eckhart and scripter Jason Reitman, "The Painted Veil" star Edward Norton and scriptwriter Ron Nyswaner — plus "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Dead Girl."

The inclusion of Spanish-language "Pan's" seems surprising, but let's recall that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won best pic, director (Ang Lee) and supporting actress (Ziyi Zhang) in 2000. "Pan's" qualifies because most of its financing came from Yankee sources and because director/writer Guillermo del Toro lives in the U.S. However, it still looks like an oddball choice considering it's Mexico's entry in Oscar's foreign-film race, but not put in the equivalent lineup at the Spirits.

Meantime, "The Queen," "Venus," "Last King of Scotland," "The History Boys" and "Borat" didn't qualify because their filmmakers or production companies are based in Britain. The Spirits have a separate category for foreign films, but they didn't pop up there. Other movies like "Little Children" and "Bobby" didn't qualify because they didn't fit all four criteria cited by Film Independent, which bestows the prizes: 1. Uniqueness of vision; 2. Original, provocative subject matter; 3. Economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost and individual compensation); 4. Percentage of financing from independent sources. Nominees were determined by a panels of 15 filmakers (directors, writers, actors) and journalists. Also, films must be made for less than $20 million; 250 qualified for entry.

Last year the Spirits and Oscars shared three of the same nominees for best pic: "Capote," "Brokeback Mountain" and "Good Night, and Good Luck." "Brokeback" won best picture, "Crash" won the separate race for best first feature and "Capote" star Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor. Very often the Spirits indicate who the strongest Oscar contenders are among the indie set, as "Sideways," "Monster" and "Lost in Translation" also recently demonstrated.

Strangely missing from today's nominees were candidates whose films showed strong support in other categories: Naomi Watts ("The Painted Veil") and Robert Downey Jr. ("A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints").

Top photos: "Little Miss Sunshine" took five Spirit noms, but none for its sunny little star — 10-year-old Abigail Breslin. "Half Nelson" star Shareeka Epps (here with costar Ryan Gosling) earned the Aw-Ain't-She-Cute Vote instead. Shareeka was only in her mid-teens when she appeared in "Half Nelson" (and appeared to be younger), but now she's a senior in high school (about 17 years old — no official age is listed at IMDB.com). Bottom photos: "Pan's Labyrinth's" nom for best picture was a huge Spirit shockeroo.
(Fox Searchlight/ Think Films/ Picturehouse)